Social-networking company stepping up its presence in one of the fast-growing areas of the game industry

Twitter Inc. plans to broadcast more than 1,500 hours of competitive videogame contests this year, bolstering its live-streaming efforts and stepping up its presence in one of the fastest-growing areas of the game industry.

The social-networking company Thursday said it is working with ESL, one of the largest e-sports organizers, and DreamHack, a videogame-festival organizer, with the first broadcast coming Saturday. ESL and DreamHack are owned by Modern Times Group MTG AB, a digital-entertainment group based in Sweden.